Swiss Activities Team Tips - 17 tips for your trip

Switzerland.

For us from the Swiss Activities Team, this country embodies very different things. It is home (for some of us), it fascinates and occupies us every day at work, and it always makes us discover new things that we want to tell the world.

In this article, our team members share their tips with you. Often these are personal tips that don't exactly fit into a specific category and don't fill an entire article. And yet they are more than worth mentioning.

So get ready for a colourful palette of ideas, inputs and travel tips straight from the Swiss Activities team.

Denis' tips

Originally I come from Darmstadt in Germany. In my life I was allowed to travel privately and professionally to many corners of the world, to finally find my home in the Bernese Oberland. Here I can really do everything I love. When I get to paraglide, mountain bike, ski or be in the mountains with my family, I'm happy. Otherwise I like to explore Switzerland and Europe with the family and the camper.

No matter where, with Freeletics your gym is always with you

Bodyweight training has always fascinated me. For one thing, I'm independent of a lot of equipment, and for another, I work with exactly the relevant weight for functional fitness. Bodyweight training doesn't require anything, but I prefer my workout in athletic clothes and with an exercise mat.

Freeletics meets all my needs in this regard. I can configure my workout goals and tell the app what workout tools are available to me. From a huge repertoire of exercises, it creates a new set for me for each workout session. The sessions are short and there is hardly any excuse to postpone the workout.

Freeletics is the perfect tool for any vacation. Maybe also for your trip in Switzerland?

Save food and money with Too Good To Go

We all love our planet - I'm almost certain of that. Food waste is a big contributor to the unnecessary strain on our limited natural resources. Too Good To Go has excited me from the start. Restaurants and other participants offer products that are no longer suitable for regular sale, but are far too good for the garbage can - simply "Too Good To Go".

In the meantime, I had great surprise bags from the supermarket next door, desserts and main dishes from restaurants I didn't know yet, a box of drinks from a brewery, and a huge box of chocolate and granola bars. The price was always small, the quality was great and often I was able to discover new things. Join in and save food at home as well as when traveling. In Switzerland, well over 10,000 restaurants, bistros, supermarkets, bakeries and cafés are taking part.

Threema - Privacy Made in Switzerland

There are many messengers and each one probably has its advantages. I value transparency and data protection above all. Threema was very appealing to me right from the beginning. A Swiss company that guarantees full privacy and allows complete anonymity. For me, investing the equivalent of a large latte macchiato was a no-brainer.

Over the past few years, I've been able to get my family and a large part of my circle of friends to use it, and the number of users continues to rise continually. Since 2022, the Swiss army has prescribed Threema as the messenger for official communication for its members. If privacy and transparency are important to you, give it a try.

Serainas tips

I grew up in a small village in Appenzellerland and now, after many travels all over the world, I live in St. Gallen. I love to be on the road in Switzerland. Be it to look for inspiration for the next article for Swiss Activities or my blog Lost in Switzerland or just to enjoy the beauty of the country. Most of the time it's a combination of both.

Use the power of the Day Pass

It's just as valuable for locals as it is for tourists. If I don't currently happen to posess a GA and am planning a trip in Switzerland, I always look for a SBB Day Pass. Usually there are still some SBB Saver Day Passes available, which are really worth it if you plan ahead.

When I have friends visiting me from abroad, the first thing I always do is look at the SBB Saver Day Pass calendar. That's how I've often shown my guests my home for a very good price.

Always online thanks to Digital Republic

So far the cheapest option I've found to get unlimited data in Switzerland for a month. I have already recommended it to friends from Germany and my cousin from New Zealand and they all loved it. Just like me.. By activating the E-SIM from Digital Republic you pay 10 CHF per month and can surf with unlimited data restrictions. It's not a subscription and thus has no fixed term. Definitely the best and as far as I know also the cheapest option to be online while traveling through Switzerland.

Yesterday's bread tastes best, doesn't it?

Besides Too Good To Go, which I use every now and then just like Denis, there is another great concept that fights food waste on the one hand and saves the travel budget on the other. The Ässbar offers baked goods and other delicacies from bakeries that couldn't be sold the day before, according to the motto "fresh from yesterday". And at unbeatable prices.

So if you want to save a delicious sandwich or a sweet cream slice from the garbage can and save money at the same time, be sure to visit an Ässbar on your trip.

A power bank is always good

How many times have I been on a day trip and suddenly realized that my phone battery was almost gone? Listening to music, searching for train connections via the SBB app and photographing or filming all the beautiful landscapes is a real drain on the battery. That's why I never go out again without my power bank, so that I don't suddenly have to do without a photo at a critical moment.

So if you're going to be out for a whole day and plan to use your phone or camera a lot, I recommend packing a powerbank.

Mathias' tips

Originally I come from Grindelwald and therefore I know the Jungfrau region with all its facets. By the way, here you will also find the Big Pintenfritz, the longest toboggan run in Europe. It leads from Faulhorn over 15 km to Grindelwald. To anticipate the first tip..

In the meantime, however, I live on Lake Zurich and work here for Swiss Activities. I like to be out in nature as much as in good restaurants.

65.000 km should be enough

There are over 65.000 km of hiking trails in Switzerland. Therefore, it is my recommendation to do at least one hike during your trip. On the Switzerland Mobility map, which is also available as a mobile app, you will find a huge selection of hiking trails for every fitness level. The website of Schweizer Wanderwege is also a great place to start.

Hit the mountains on an E-MTB

To discover the beautiful Swiss mountain landscapes, renting an e-mountain bike is perfect. You're flexible, you get to see a lot of different things and can stop anywhere to enjoy the view. And the best part is that you pay about the same, if not less, for a day's rental of a bike as you would for a mountain railway ticket. Plus, you can easily avoid the crowds by going wherever your bike takes you.

By the way, with a guided E-MTB tour you will be shown the best spots of a region that you would not find by yourself.

The Friends Day Pass for Youth belongs in every piece of luggage

Anyone under the age of 25 who wants to travel through Switzerland at a reasonable price should definitely buy the Friends Day Pass for Youth. With it, up to four people can travel on the entire public transport network in Switzerland for only CHF 80 per day. The perfect offer for backpackers!

Fondue and snow go great together

You should definitely not miss a fondue when you are in Switzerland. In winter I recommend the combination with night sledding. This way you get the perfect mix of fresh air, snow, fun, adrenaline and pleasure.

Tanja's tips

I was born and raised in Thun. In the meantime I share my center of life between Thun and Barcelona. I like a nice hike in the mountains as much as a cozy get-together with the family or a summer day at Lake Thun.

Indulgence time with your favorite person

It doesn't always have to be a birthday or an anniversary. What could be better than spending quality time with your favorite person? Grab your friend, get into the car and enjoy a little time out at the spa. For example here in Grindelwald.

Activities on and around Lake Thun

The best way to explore the beautiful nature around Lake Thun is by boat. By the way, the day pass is valid for Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. I recommend you to make a stop on a trip across Lake Brienz and visit the famous Giessbach Falls.

Discover cities in Switzerland

Autumn is the perfect time of year to discover cities in Switzerland. Take a leisurely stroll through the alleyways and learn something about the city at the same time with the interactive scavenger hunt in over 25 cities in Switzerland. For example, in Interlaken after a boat trip?

Elke's tips

I grew up in Leipzig and have lived in the Chiemgau (Upper Bavaria) with my second husband for 35 years. Here I learned to love the mountains. And not only in Bavaria, but also in Austria, South Tyrol and of course in Switzerland. A vacation home on the Spanish Costa Blanca provides balance with various water pleasures.

Canyons fascinate me

In addition to mountains, I also love beautiful canyons. On our travels, they have always fascinated me in particular. It doesn't always have to be the Grand Canyon in the USA or the Fish River Canyon in Namibia. By the way, did you know that the Rhine Gorge is called the "Grand Canyon of Switzerland"? The beautiful canyons in the Verzasca Valley, Boggera or the Valle Maggia are just a few more examples of many canyons worth seeing in Switzerland. They are also perfect for canyoning.

If you're not crazy about getting into the water, then visiting a gorge in the evening is also a special experience. I'm thinking of the Glacier Gorge Grindelwald or the Aare Gorge between Meiringen and Innertkirchen, for example. The evening lighting makes these gorges appear almost mystical.

Admire the flora and fauna

When I'm out in the mountains, I take a lot of photos. Today everything has become much easier. All you need for beautiful photos is a good cell phone, which admittedly is now just as expensive as an SLR camera. I like to pay attention to the pretty alpine flowers and small animals like salamanders.

Try not only to enjoy the views, but also to pay attention to the little things on the ground. Especially on paths that are not so crowded, this is fun. You'll be amazed at what you might discover there.

Overcoming fear of heights

Do you know the feeling? You're standing high up and want to look down, but something inside you is cramping up and preventing you from doing so? In our family, we have two such candidates who get all green in the face just riding the cable car. They don't even know what beautiful moments in life they can miss as a result.

I felt the same way for a while as a teenager, but I found a remedy. I deliberately exposed myself to such situations over and over. It helps. And if it does get the better of you, direct your gaze to something nearby. Or take a picture, talk to your neighbor, distract yourself.

These were our Swiss Activities Team tips. We hope that we could inspire you and that you could take something with you for your trip through Switzerland.